Midsummers Night is a time for magic spells. If you put seven flowers under your pillow, in your dreams you will see your future spouse. And if you select the following seven flowers, whose names all come from Greek, that spouse will resemble a Greek god.
Peony comes from the Greek word “paionia”, referring to Paion, the physician to the gods. The peony has been used as a medicine.
Iris was a messenger of the gods; the rainbow marked the path of her descent to earth.
Aster is from the word ”aster” meaning ’star’.
Chrysanthemum comes from the word ”khrysanthemon”: khrysos ‘gold’ and anthmos ‘flower’.
Rhododendron is a combination of the words ”rhodon” meaning ‘rose’ and dendron ‘tree’.
Hyacinth is rooted in Greek ”hyakinthos”. The word refers to Apollo’s beloved hero, whose blood Apollo used to create the flower.
Narcissus is based on ”narcissus”, which, like its ”narc” relatives, refers to sleep or numbness. Narcissus, according to the story, was a handsome lad who stared at his reflection until he died and turned into a yellow-white flower.
I wish you good midsummer spells and a nice summer vacation. The word of the week is going on a summer break and will be back in August.